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Scroll.in
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Why climbing a fence in Kashmir might not be enough for Omar Abdullah to keep his promises
On Monday morning, followed by cameras, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah scaled the iron fence of a shrine in Srinagar's old city. In defiance of the Lieutenant Governor's orders, Abdullah made his way to the Khwaja Naqshband Sahib shrine to pray at the graves of 22 Kashmiri Muslim protesters shot dead on July 13, 1931, by the forces of Dogra ruler Maharaja Hari Singh. Just a day before, the Lieutenant Governor had put the entire Kashmiri mainstream leadership, including its legislators, under house arrest to prevent them going to the shrine to mark the anniversary of the July 13 'martyrdom'. As videos of a policeman grabbing Abdullah and trying to stop him from reaching the graves spread across social media, Opposition politicians across the country reacted sharply. 'Is this how an elected Chief Minister should be treated?' Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M K Stalin said in a post on social media platform X. 'This is not just about one state or one leader. From Tamil Nadu to Kashmir, the Union BJP Government is systematically stripping away the rights of elected State Governments.' Abdullah's act struck a rare note of defiance and dissent against the Centre in a political set-up where the New Delhi-appointed Lieutenant Governor enjoys an overwhelming control on the administration. It underlined to the wider Indian public the powerlessness of a sitting chief minister in Jammu and Kashmir. 'The kind of traction and media interest it generated was significant,' Sheikh Showkat Hussain, a former professor of law at Kashmir University said. 'From Akhilesh Yadav to the Tamil Nadu chief minister, many opposition leaders in India sympathised and showed their support to Abdullah.' But in Kashmir, the symbolism might not be enough, observers told Scroll. They pointed out a growing apprehension that the chief minister has not done enough to challenge the writ of the Lieutenant Governor administration – whether on Jammu and Kashmir's reservation policy or the question of political prisoners languishing in jails outside the union territory. 'Leave aside the basic issue of reversing the August 5, 2019 decisions, the Omar Abdullah government has avoided addressing critical issues like release of political prisoners, the arbitrary detention of youth, dismissal of employees from government services by the LG administration…' a political science scholar in Srinagar, who declined to be identified, said. Paid my respects & offered Fatiha at the graves of the martyrs of 13th July 1931. The unelected government tried to block my way forcing me to walk from Nawhatta chowk. They blocked the gate to Naqshband Sb shrine forcing me to scale a wall. They tried to physically grapple me… — Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 14, 2025 The Martyrs' Day promise A landmark event in the modern history of Jammu and Kashmir and the movement against the rule of the Dogras, July 13 was officially celebrated as 'Martyrs Day' for decades. That changed in 2019, when the Narendra Modi government scrapped Jammu and Kashmir's special status and split it into two union territories. During the 2024 assembly elections, the first after the erstwhile state was split into two union territories, the National Conference had promised to restore the gazette holiday on July 13. However, in December, a month after the National Conference government was elected, the Lieutenant Governor administration excluded the day from the official list of holidays. The National Conference formally wrote to the Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha about restoring July 13 as a public holiday, but the latter has shown no urgency to heed to the request. 'He should represent Kashmiri interests' In the nine months it has been in power, the Omar Abdullah government has taken few substantive decisions that could push into a path of confrontation with New Delhi. It has changed the academic calendar in schools, relaxed the upper age limit for open merit candidates appearing for combined competitive examinations of the union territory and announced free travel for women on government buses. That pales in comparison to the promises made by the party manifesto, from the restoration of special status and statehood, jobs and scrapping the Union territory's stringent preventive detention law. Few Kashmiris doubt the powerlessness of the chief minister in a union territory set-up, but it's Abdullah's attitude towards the Centre that has antagonised the public, critics pointed out. In January, during a tunnel inauguration event in Kashmir, Abdullah had showered praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for delivering on his promise of holding Assembly elections in the union territory. 'My heart believes that you will make this happen', a gushing Abdullah had told Modi about the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. To many in Kashmir Valley, Abdullah's behaviour had come as a shock. 'Frankly speaking, nobody is expecting him to fight against Delhi and sit on a hunger strike,' said Kaiser Ahmad, a resident of Ganderbal, one of the two assembly segments from which Abdullah won elections last year. 'But he should represent Kashmiri interests before Delhi, not Delhi's before Kashmiris…He should not act like a slave before Modi and Shah.' 'We feel cheated' For months now, the Omar Abdullah government has been facing the ire of youngsters for sitting on its promise of rationalising the reservation policy. In March last year, the Lieutenant Governor administration had increased reservation for Scheduled Tribes to 20% from 10%. Those who benefitted from this step included the million-strong Pahari speaking community of Jammu and Kashmir, who populate most of the Pir Panjal region of Jammu. But in changing the policy, the share of seats open to the general category was reduced to 40%. In Jammu and Kashmir, the general category accounts for 69 % of the population, according to the 2011 census. This includes those who do not fall in Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and groups classified as Other Backward Classes. The new policy drew massive protests from the general category students, who said the policy violated the Supreme Court's 50 % cap on reservation. Ahead of the 2024 assembly elections, the National Conference had promised that the new reservation policy 'will be reviewed and any injustice and imbalance will be corrected.' One of the many who had believed in that promise was 21-year-old Subiya Mehraj, a National Eligibility Entrance Test aspirant from Kashmir. 'This was the first time I voted. Not only did I vote for the National Conference, I campaigned for the party within my family and friends. I thought they were serious about undoing the injustice done to Open Merit students,' shared Mehraj. More than half a year after she cast her vote, Mehraj is livid. 'I feel cheated. First, the government said to wait for six months for the committee [on reservation] to submit its report. Once that report was submitted, they said it has been submitted to the law department and there's no time frame when they are going to send it back.' Mehraj added: 'It looks like it's just a mere slogan for them to woo voters. But they don't realise it's about the future of lakhs of youth.' Under pressure It is not only Opposition leaders or people who have criticised Abdullah's non-confrontationist form of governance. His own party colleague and Member of Parliament from Srinagar, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, has been a vocal critic of the way his party's government has been functioning. 'At times, I feel that the promises that we made during the elections in terms of political agenda – forget local governance – we seem to be… not saying that we are… putting that on the backburner,' Ruhullah told The Indian Express in an interview recently. The growing criticism of Abdullah's government in addressing key issues that resonate with the people may have played a role in the chief minister's conduct on Monday, a second political observer told Scroll. 'There is pressure from society,' agreed Hussain, the former professor of law at Kashmir University.
Mint
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Watch Viral Video: Omar Abdullah scales graveyard wall, confronts cops amid Martyrs' Day row in Kashmir
Watch Viral Video: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on July 14 scaled a wall resisting police's attempts to stop him and other National Conference leaders from visiting the Martyrs Graveyard and pay tributes to Kashmiri Muslim protesters who were shot dead by Maharaja Hari Singh's Dogra forces in 1931 'Paid my respects and offered Fatiha at the graves of the martyrs of 13th July 1931. The unelected government tried to block my way forcing me to walk from Nawhatta chowk. They blocked the gate to Naqshband Sb shrine forcing me to scale a wall. They tried to physically grapple me but I was not going to be stopped today,' Abdullah said in a post on X accompanying the video. Abdullah drove to the Martyrs' Graveyard in the old city's Nowhatta neighbourhood on Monday morning, a day after being locked indoors and prevented by police from visiting the graveyard Abdullah lambasted the Lieutenant Governor and the police for trying to stop him and his entourage from entering the martyrs' graveyard. It is sad that on the instructions of the people who claim that their responsibility is the security and law and order, we were not allowed to offer 'fateha' here. "It is sad that on the instructions of the people who claim that their responsibility is the security and law and order, we were not allowed to offer 'fateha' here. We were kept in house arrest (on Sunday). When gates opened, I expressed to the control room my desire to offer fateha. Within minutes, bunkers were put up and they were not removed late into the night," Abdullah told reporters after paying tributes at the graveyard.
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Business Standard
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Explained: Why is Martyrs' Day in Jammu and Kashmir controversial?
The political temperature in Jammu and Kashmir rose ahead of July 13, observed as Martyrs' Day, as police imposed restrictions and detained political leaders. According to media reports, the J&K Police, along with Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), enforced a partial lockdown in Srinagar to prevent gatherings at the Martyrs' Graveyard. Former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were reportedly denied entry to the cemetery. Calling the move 'blatantly undemocratic', he added: 'The July 13 massacre is our Jallianwala Bagh. What a shame that true heroes who fought against British rule in all its forms are today projected as villains only because they were Muslims.' Let's understand the history of Martyrs' Day in Jammu and Kashmir and why this day remains deeply divisive. Origin of Martyrs' Day Martyrs' Day commemorates the 21 Kashmiri Muslim protesters killed on July 13, 1931, by the Dogra regime during British India. The protesters had assembled outside Srinagar Central Jail, demanding the release of Abdul Qadeer Khan, who had been arrested for inciting rebellion against Maharaja Hari Singh. As the crowd swelled, Dogra troops opened fire, killing 22. The bodies were buried at the shrine of Muslim saint Khwaja Bahawuddin Naqshbandi in Srinagar. The site became known as Mazar-e-Shuhada, or the Martyrs' Graveyard. The day has since been observed as a symbol of resistance and the struggle for Kashmiri self-determination. Who was Abdul Qadeer Khan? There is limited documentation on Abdul Qadeer Khan's origins, but he is widely believed to have worked for a British officer, Major Butt, in Peshawar. In Kashmir, Khan gave impassioned speeches against the Dogra regime, leading to his arrest. He was charged with 'sedition' and provocation with 'intent to cause riot'. His arrest and trial triggered widespread protests, culminating in the July 13 killings. Revoking the holiday and ongoing demands From 1931 until 2019, July 13 was an official public holiday in Jammu and Kashmir. However, after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, the Lieutenant Governor's administration removed the day from the list of official holidays. This move was seen by many as an effort to reshape Kashmir's historical narrative. While Kashmiri Muslims regard July 13 as a day of remembrance, some Kashmiri Pandit groups have historically observed it as a 'Black Day'. Regional parties such as the National Conference, which is now in power in the Union territory, have continued to demand restoration of the holiday and permission for public observances.
Indian Express
11-07-2025
- Indian Express
Kashmiri cuisine: Lotus stem, ginger, fennel, and sublime meat gravies — a look at India's most underrated culinary gems
One of my favourite places to visit in India — one I've been to five times — is Kashmir. Not because there's a lack of other holiday options, but simply because of the state's pristine beauty, incredibly hospitable people, and delicious food. My first trip to Kashmir was a family vacation when I was 12, just before militancy struck. At that point, it truly felt like paradise: cool, crisp air, apple orchards, rolling green mountains, and streams so clean we drank directly from them. Over the last decade, I've returned several times, and, unsurprisingly, food has been a major part of my travels. Kashmiri cuisine — Pandit and Muslim — is very different from typical North Indian fare. Kashmiri Pandits are the region's native inhabitants, many of whom had to flee during the exodus and resettled in cities like Delhi, Jammu, Lucknow, Allahabad, and Calcutta. Growing up in Calcutta, I had several Kashmiri Pandit school friends — the Atals, Tankhas, Ganjus — whose mothers introduced us to their traditional cuisine from an early age. Kashmiri Pandit cuisine is rich, dangerously red, but not spicy, often mildly creamy, cooked in mustard oil, and flavoured with hing (asafoetida), saunth (ginger powder), and saunf (fennel). It typically omits onions, garlic, and tomatoes. The use of dry ginger instead of fresh comes from its limited availability in the Valley. The commonly encountered 'Kashmiri food' in restaurants is Kashmiri Muslim cuisine, shaped by Mughal and Afghan influences, and by travellers, saints, and scholars from Central Asia and Persia who left their mark on Kashmir's culinary history. The Muslim style primarily differs from Pandit food due to the inclusion of onions and garlic. Staples include rice (batt'e) and yoghurt (zamut dod), both central to meals in Pandit and Muslim households. The rich red of rogan josh comes from dried Kashmiri chillies – larger, milder cousins of what we're used to outside the Valley – more paprika than fiery red chilli. When I tried to make Kashmiri haak (collard greens), I came across ver, a red spice cake made with chillies, methi (fenugreek), and other spices. You crumble it into the greens as they cook in water. That's what brings the dish to life. If you happen to stroll through Srinagar early in the morning or around evening, you'll pass rows of small local bakeries or kandur waan. They're piled high with fresh breads — lavasa (a soft naan with Afghan roots), kulcha (not to be confused with the Punjabi version; this one's biscuit-like with a savoury-sweet touch), katlam (a Kashmiri version of puff pastry, my personal favourite), and tel vor (a sourdough, oven-baked bagel). These are breakfast staples or evening tea companions. No visit to Srinagar is complete for me without a meal at Ahdoos. It's not fancy, but it's where I indulge in a proper wazwan feast, central to Kashmiri Muslim cuisine and culture. It's an extravagant spread of meat and chicken dishes, dum aloo, and haak. Finishing it all is a serious challenge. Chor Bizarre in Delhi also serves a lovely wazwan in traditional copper trami platters. The wazwan is a ritual in itself, prepared by specialist cooks known as wazas. Only freshly slaughtered lamb is used, and meat is carefully portioned — rib cage for tabakh maaz, boneless cuts for kebabs, rista, and gushtaba. Traditionally, it's all cooked over firewood (wir), never gas. Another hallmark of the cuisine is the meat cuts: large, fatty chunks are prized, never small delicate pieces. You'll notice this in dishes like rogan josh or yakhni, the fat adds a depth of flavour you simply can't replicate otherwise. If you're keen to try Kashmiri dishes, here's what I'd recommend. Kaliyae is a personal favourite: fatty lamb pieces simmered with hing, haldi, saunf, and other mild spices in a pale, comforting gravy. Matcz – cylindrical meat kebabs in spiced gravy – may not be my top pick, but it's a staple, like rogan josh. My top choice, however, is yakhni or yakhin, a delicate yoghurt-based curry flavoured with fennel and hing, made with sautéed lamb chops. Its subtlety makes it far more appealing to me than the bold, red rogan josh. If you're putting health concerns aside for a moment, you must try kabargah, lamb ribs first simmered in milk, water, and spices, then marinated in curd and finally deep-fried in ghee. Unapologetically indulgent. Vegetarians actually have slim pickings when it comes to Kashmiri cuisine. And I've never been a fan of the vegetarian food in Kashmir, but the Pandits do swear by their vegetarian fare. Tsok wangun, which translates to 'tangy brinjal' is prepared with pink, long brinjals deep-fried and tempered with hing, and then flavoured with tamarind or lemon and fennel powder. The only vegetarian preparation I regularly cook is haakh and monje haakh. Haakh te batt'e (greens and rice) is a staple pairing: collard greens or knol-khol (kohlrabi) simply steamed with chillies and hing. It's served alongside lavish meals, providing a needed counterpoint to the richness. Cottage cheese (tsaman) is popular too –– iyder tsaman is prepared in a curry similar to kaliyae. This is also the only cuisine where I don't like the fish preparations. Despite the easy availability of freshwater fish like trout, carp, and rohu, the cooking style – deep-frying and stewing in heavy gravies – tends to overwhelm the fish's natural flavour. For instance, mujje gaad (with turnip) or gaade nadur (with lotus stem) are heavily spiced and cooked in oil-rich sauces. Lotus stem (nadir) is more palatable in other forms, either stir-fried as a starter or cooked in yakhni. Muj'e chetin – grated radish mixed with curd, chillies, and salt – is a refreshing side to cut through the meat. A special mention should be made of dum aloo, not to be confused with alur dum. There is no feast I have been served, at a restaurant or at a home, without the dul alu/olav making an appearance. Potatoes are boiled, peeled, deep-fried in mustard oil, and then cooked in a thick red gravy seasoned with fennel and asafoetida. Given the harsh winters in Kashmir, there's a tradition of sun-drying vegetables and fruits. If you visit in summer, look into people's gardens: you'll often see tomatoes, brinjals, apples, quince, plums, turnips, gourds, and even fish strung together in garlands to be preserved for the cold months. There is a reason for the abundant use of mustard oil or ghee in Kashmiri cuisine. This is food designed to keep your body warm and provide you with energy during the cold, snowy months. The flavours and ingredients, though, are so unique and distinct from other cuisines in India, that I would strongly recommend finding a home chef or a restaurant that serves Kashmiri food and trying it out. It's perfect for winter or when you want to indulge in some heart-warming comfort food. Author of The Sweet Kitchen, and chef-owner of Food For Thought Catering ... Read More
India Today
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
Dibakar Banerjee's ‘Tees': A muted masterpiece?
(NOTE: This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated June 9, 2025)It had all the makings of a triumph—an acclaimed director, a powerhouse cast, and a standing ovation at the film's first Indian screening at the Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) last year. Dibakar Banerjee's Tees drew cinephiles from across the country. Yet, the celebration carried the weight of heartbreak. In 2023, Netflix—the platform that had commissioned Tees in 2019 and to whom Banerjee delivered it in 2022—had quietly pulled the plug on its release, effectively locking away a film that deserved to be by Naseeruddin Shah, Manisha Koirala, Huma Qureshi, Shashank Arora, Zoya Hussain and Divya Dutta in pivotal roles, the 55-year-old filmmaker's triptych of stories follows three generations of a Kashmiri Muslim family. Across three different timelines—political unrest in 1989 Srinagar, communal violence in 2030 and censorship in 2043—Tees unfolds as its protagonists grapple with their identity, voice and systemic excision in an increasingly dystopian the film's commercial release in limbo, Banerjee spent the months since its DIFF premiere hosting private, non-ticketed screenings across India. Yet, it's not something he has done by choice. 'The screenings are a way of generating commercial and critical interest in the hope that somehow Tees lives by being seen,' Banerjee tells india today. Otherwise, unplayed, sitting on a hard drive, the film is as good as extinct. 'In such a situation, an audience connecting deeply with the film is gratifying and saddening. You love the fact that it moves someone but rue the fact that it can't move more.'advertisement To explore Tees's complex themes—rising communalism, generational trauma and queer marginalisation under a surveillance state—Banerjee, who co-wrote, directed and produced the film, pulled from both the personal and the political. This included memories from his childhood and neighbourhood, Indian television epics like Hum Log and Buniyaad, Ashapurna Devi's Prothom Protishruti trilogy and Robert Harris's speculative historical novel Fatherland, which he claims influenced him 'subconsciously'. But the film's urgency came from the filmmaker watching young couples, especially Muslims, trying to rent a flat in Mumbai and from the murder of Gauri Lankesh. SPANNING GENERATIONS |Naseeruddin Shah in a still from Tees Banerjee has been making Hindi movies for nearly two decades—boasting an oeuvre that is both distinct and impossible to replicate. He debuted with Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006), a sharp satire about middle-class aspirations; helmed Love Sex Aur Dhokha (2010), a found-footage style anthology; and went on to direct a segment in Netflix-backed anthologies Bombay Talkies (2013) and Lust Stories (2018). In many ways, the expansive ambition of Tees was meant to be a culmination of Banerjee's evolution as a filmmaker. But with Tees buried, he became the very figure his film mourns: an artist muted by the between, the filmmaker kept busy, directing a short film and releasing a potent sequel to Love Sex Aur Dhokha. Yet, Banerjee still found himself grappling with waves of anger and frustration. Navigating the emotional toll of the film's shelving while continuing to move forward as a filmmaker was a 'gradual' process—one he credits to therapy and a drive for inventive solutions. 'Choosing your workmates well is virtually half the battle won,' adds disappearance of Tees may be best understood in the context of the controversy that surrounded Tandav (2021), the Prime Video series that drew right-wing ire for its portrayal of dissent and religious imagery. Despite edits, legal cases mounted, and fear took hold. It sent a clear warning to streamers, who became increasingly cautious about supporting projects that might provoke similar backlash. In such a fragile climate, films like Tees have arguably become collateral to Banerjee, filmmaking is an expensive art form that demands 'mediated investment' but which become an easy target because of its ability to reach out to a massive audience. Suppressing art that focuses on truth-telling, questioning and challenging narratives is a surefire way to condition audiences in the practice of distraction. 'A generation growing up on moving images can be better controlled if cruelty, misogyny and empty spectacle are provided through films regularly,' he by existing, Tees defies that conditioning. Invisibilising it makes clear exactly which stories are unwelcome in India today. And yet, its disappearance has only amplified the urgency of what it had to to India Today MagazineMust Watch
